Hadrian’s Wall Half Marathon, Windy Gyle and Jesmond Dene Handicap

Kenny McCormick is catching up on a few race reports:

Hadrian’s Wall Half Marathon 16th June 2013; this was run on a good weather day…not too hot ; just warm enough to get you sweating freely…and that’s before the race started due to the severe sphincter spasm factor. it was a mix of road, fell and woodland track. The start was fast followed by the inevitable steep climb;there were a lot of those throughout the race. I ran fairly well despite calf strain problems and ended first in my age group…of two. The race was well organised and very interesting in terms of difficulty and scenery. Well worth a try in the future!

Windy Gyle fell race on 23rd June 2013 was in very changeable and almost extreme weather. Strong winds, rain, hailstones and then baking sun made a difficult course all the more harder. Another well organised race with great scenery in remote conditions. The first hill got to me and killed off my chances of further glory; but I finished in a time not dissimilar to my two previous runs and so left me not too unhappy if not exhausted. Again, calf strain did not help.

The last of the Jesmond Dene Handicap races took place on Monday 24th June 2013 in almost perfect weather for running. it was not as well attended as previous years but close to 50 runners had a good run with organisation again very good. It’s not exactly flat but we have done as much on some interval sessions with Torquemada Kear leading us. It’s a good race for testing oneself out in race conditions. Not recommended to do it the day after a fell race but I did it faster than the other two races in the series!

So…Snowdon Race on 20th July for me….bit of a challenge to say the least. Good luck to all doing the Chevy Chase and other runs.